What began as a simple idea has evolved into a powerful business model that helps address need and advance health, education and economic opportunity for children and their communities around the world. Supporting TOMS Shoes is also a compassionate display of support for helping children get some of the basics they need to enjoy better and healthier lives. Whether it's a pair of TOMS booties, shoes or sandals, you're helping to make a difference in the world.
By 2011, over 500 retailers carried the brand globally and in the same year, Toms launched its eyewear line.[21] By 2012 over two million pairs of new shoes had been given to children in developing countries around the world. The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the University of New Mexico has described the company as an example of social entrepreneurship.[14][22]
By 2011, over 500 retailers carried the brand globally and in the same year, Toms launched its eyewear line.[21] By 2012 over two million pairs of new shoes had been given to children in developing countries around the world. The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the University of New Mexico has described the company as an example of social entrepreneurship.[14][22]
By 2011, over 500 retailers carried the brand globally and in the same year, Toms launched its eyewear line.[21] By 2012 over two million pairs of new shoes had been given to children in developing countries around the world. The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the University of New Mexico has described the company as an example of social entrepreneurship.[14][22]

The company's shoe distribution partners have focused on distributing shoes in areas where health and social benefits of the shoes would be the highest. For example, in Ethiopia the shoes are intended to help prevent a soil-borne disease that attacks the lymphatic system and which largely affected women and children.[15] Toms sunglasses are sold with the One for One model, however it does not necessarily provide glasses only to those in developing countries. The One for One model includes putting money toward medical treatment, eye surgeries and prescription glasses. Toms works with the Seva Foundation among other partners to accomplish this.[41] The first countries that Toms implemented its program were Nepal, Cambodia and Tibet.[42] The original three designs, according to Leigh Grogan, were "The stripe on the temples represents the buyer; the stripe on the tips represents the person whose sight is being helped, and the middle stripe represents Toms, which brings the two together."[43][44]

Blake Mycoskie visited Argentina in 2002 while competing in the second season of The Amazing Race with his sister.[12] He returned on vacation in January 2006, and noticed that the local polo players were wearing alpargatas, a simple canvas slip-on shoe that he began to wear himself and which are the model for the original line of Toms Shoes.[13] They are made from canvas or cotton fabric with rope soles, but Toms makes theirs with rubber soles.[9] Mycoskie said that when he was doing volunteer work in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, he noticed that many of the children were running through the streets with no shoes on. He decided to develop a type of alpargata for the North American market, with the goal to provide a new pair of shoes free of charge to youth of Argentina and other developing nations for every pair sold.[14] According to Mycoskie, Bill Gates encouraged him by saying that the lack of shoes was a major contributor to diseases in children.[15]
Employees of TOMS travel to different countries on "Giving Trips" to deliver shoes to children in person. In 2006, Toms distributed 10,000 pairs of shoes in Argentina.[48][49] In November 2007, the company distributed 50,000 pairs of shoes to children in South Africa.[50] As of April 2009, Toms had distributed 140,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina, Ethiopia, South Africa as well as children in the United States.[46] As of 2012, Toms has given away over one million pairs of shoes in 40 countries.[45][51]
On Monday night, we hosted an energizing and emotional rally in Washington, DC as we prepared to hand-deliver 700,000+ postcards to Congress the next morning. One of the most impactful moments of the evening was when Change the Ref created a live art piece using the words his son Joaquin sent to Congress 5 years before he was shot and killed in Parkland in 2018. We were also joined by @vicmensa, @cleowade, MILCK, and our dedicated partners, each using their own unique voice to put out the call to #endgunviolencetogether. Black and Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium @everytown Faith in Action Giffords Live Free @marchforourlives @momsdemand #YRK #naomiwadler @ Union Market DC

The major mission of Toms is that a business, rather than a charity, would help their impact last longer. In his speech at the Second Annual Clinton Global Initiative[58] Mycoskie states that his initial motivation was a disease called podoconiosis—a debilitating and disfiguring disease which causes one's feet to swell along with many other health implications. Also known as "Mossy Foot", podoconiosis is a form of elephantiasis that affects the lymphatic system of the lower legs. The disease is a soil-transmitted disease caused by walking in silica-rich soil.[59] Toms currently works with factories nearby where they perform some of their shoe drops.[60]

What began as a simple idea has evolved into a powerful business model that helps address need and advance health, education and economic opportunity for children and their communities around the world. Supporting TOMS Shoes is also a compassionate display of support for helping children get some of the basics they need to enjoy better and healthier lives. Whether it's a pair of TOMS booties, shoes or sandals, you're helping to make a difference in the world.